This is the history of the boostore 'bookshop' mostly in north America. Starting the colonial times, with of course Ben Franklin and coming up through the present mega bookstores such as Barnes and Noble. Along the way small and specialty bookshops are explored. Many niche bookstores were important centers of communities in the civil rights era with black bookstores and LGBT bookstores providing vital info for their communties. Many stories of the personalities of people who were instrumental in creating the modern bookstore. Many of the pioneers were women at a time when there were not many options available, and there are nice little known stories such as the groundbreaking bookstore on the thrid floor of Mashal Fields in Chicago.
